Bible verse by verse

[_Quasimodo]

You know. Little Nipper started this thread in June 2012. It has taken over a year and a half to get to where we are in Judges. I think nip needs to pick up the pace or we will all be burning in hell before we finally get the hint and turn our lives over to the lord and Savior even Jesus Christ.

Maybe I can help. SPOILER ALERT!!!

In the end Jesus is crucified and then resurrected. Paul makes comments. John of patmos tells a scary story about the end of the world.

[_son of Ishmael]

You know. Little Nipper started this thread in June 2012. It has taken over a year and a half to get to where we are in Judges. I think nip needs to pick up the pace or we will all be burning in hell before we finally get the hint and turn our lives over to the lord and Savior even Jesus Christ.

Maybe I can help. SPOILER ALERT!!!

In the end Jesus is crucified and then resurrected. Paul makes comments. John of patmos tells a scary story about the end of the world.

I'll wait for the movie

[_LeVay]

You know. Little Nipper started this thread in June 2012. It has taken over a year and a half to get to where we are in Judges. I think nip needs to pick up the pace or we will all be burning in hell before we finally get the hint and turn our lives over to the lord and Savior even Jesus Christ.

Maybe I can help. SPOILER ALERT!!!

In the end Jesus is crucified and then resurrected. Paul makes comments. John of patmos tells a scary story about the end of the world.

The Devil did it.

In the library with the monkey wrench.

[_Gunnar]

I would be willing to bet that of those who have bothered to follow this thread, more of them now have a more negative view of the Bible than they did previously than have become converted to it. I think LittleNipper is doing a great service by inadvertently revealing just how flawed the Bible really is and how flawed and human its real authors were. He could not do a better job of that if that were his deliberate and actual intent!

[_ludwigm]

I would be willing to bet that of those who have bothered to follow this thread, more of them now have a more negative view of the Bible than they did previously than have become converted to it. I think LittleNipper is doing a great service by inadvertently revealing just how flawed the Bible really is and how flawed and human its real authors were. He could not do a better job of that if that were his deliberate and actual intent!

Yes.

[_LeVay]

I would be willing to bet that of those who have bothered to follow this thread, more of them now have a more negative view of the Bible than they did previously than have become converted to it. I think LittleNipper is doing a great service by inadvertently revealing just how flawed the Bible really is and how flawed and human its real authors were. He could not do a better job of that if that were his deliberate and actual intent!

Absolutely yes! That's precisely the point I'm trying to make with my side-by-side comparison of the King James Bible & the Satanic Bible.

[_LittleNipper]

I would disagree. What is happening is that true lovers of GOD are being separated from those that play at devotion to a religion. This is exactly what Judges 17 is about.

Verse 1

And there was a man of Mount Ephraim - It is extremely difficult to fix the chronology of this and the following transactions. this happened when there was no king in Israel; i.e., about the time of the Judges, or in some time of the anarchy, Judges 17:6.



Verse 2

About which thou cursedst - Houbigant and others understand this of putting the young man to his oath. It is likely that when the mother of Micah missed the money, she poured imprecations on the thief; and that Micah, who had secreted it, hearing this, was alarmed, and restored the money lest the curses should fall on him.



Verse 3

I had wholly dedicated - From this it appears that Micah‘s mother, though she made a superstitious use of the money, had no idolatrous design, for she expressly says she had dedicated it ליהוה (layhovah), to Jehovah; and this appears to have been the reason why she poured imprecations on him who had taken it.



Verse 4

A graven image and a molten image - What these images were, we cannot positively say; they were most probably some resemblance of matters belonging to the tabernacle. See below.



Verse 5

The man Micah had a house of gods - בית אלהים (beith Elohim) should, I think, be translated house or temple of God; for it is very likely that both the mother and the son intended no more than a private or domestic chapel, in which they proposed to set up the worship of the true God.

Made an ephod - Perhaps the whole of this case may be stated thus: Micah built a house of God - a chapel in imitation of the sanctuary; he made a graven image representing the ark, a molten image to represent the mercy-seat, teraphim to represent the cherubim above the mercy-seat, and an ephod in imitation of the sacerdotal garments; and he consecrated one of his sons to be priest. Thus gross idolatry was not the crime of Micah; he only set up in his own house an epitome of the Divine worship as performed at Shiloh. What the teraphim were, see the note on Genesis 31:19; for the ephod, see the note on Exodus 25:7; and for the sacerdotal vestments in general, see the note on Exodus 28:4, etc.

Who became his priest - כהן (cohen), which the Targum translates (chumera). The word כהן (cohen) is the common name in Hebrew for a priest of the true God; but sometimes it is applied to idolatrous priests. When it is to be understood in the former sense, the Targum renders it (cahen); when in the latter, it uses the word כומרא (chumera), by which it always understands an idolatrous priest. But that this was not a case of idolatry, and that the true God was worshipped here, is evident from the word Jehovah being used, Judges 17:4, and oracular answers being given at this house, as we see from Judges 18:6, etc.



Verse 6

There was no king in Israel - The word מלך (melech), which generally means king, is sometimes taken for a supreme governor, judge, magistrate, or ruler of any kind; (see Genesis 36:31, and Deuteronomy 33:5); and it is likely it should be so understood here.

Every man did that which was right in his own eyes - He was his own governor, and what he did he said was right; and, by his cunning and strength, defended his conduct. When a man‘s own will, passions, and caprice, are to be made the rule of law, society is in a most perilous and ruinous state. Civil government is of God; and without it the earth must soon be desolated. There was a time when there was no king in England; and that was, in general, a time of scandal to religion, and oppression to men.



Verse 7

Of the family of Judah - The word family may be taken here for tribe; or the young man might have been of the tribe of Judah by his mother, and of the tribe of Levi by his father, for he is called here a Levite; and it is probable that he might have officiated at Shiloh, in the Levitical office. A Levite might marry into any other tribe, providing the woman was not an heiress.



Verse 8

To sojourn where he could find - He went about the country seeking for some employment, for the Levites had no inheritance: besides, no secure residence could be found where there was no civil government.



Verse 10

Be unto me a father and a priest - Thou shalt be master of my house, as if thou wert my father; and, as priest, thou shalt appear in the presence of God for me. The term father is often used to express honor and reverence.

Ten shekels of silver - About thirty shillings per annum, with board, lodging, and clothes. Very good wages in those early times.



Verse 11

The Levite was content - He thought the place a good one, and the wages respectable.



Verse 12

Micah consecrated the Levite - וימלא את יד (vayemalle eth yad), he filled his hands, i.e., he gave him an offering to present before the Lord, that he might be accepted by him. He appointed him to be priest; God was to accept and consecrate him; and for this purpose he filled his hand; i.e., furnished him with the proper offering which he was to present on his inauguration.



Verse 13

Now know I that the Lord will do me good - As he had already provided an epitome of the tabernacle, a model of the ark, mercy-seat, and cherubim; and had got proper sacerdotal vestments, and a Levite to officiate; he took for granted that all was right, and that he should now have the benediction of God. Some think that he expected great gain from the concourse of the people to his temple; but of this there is no evidence in the text. Micah appears to have been perfectly sincere in all that he did.
I Have already remarked that there is no positive evidence that Micah or his mother intended to establish any idolatrous worship. Though they acted without any Divine command in what they did; yet they seem, not only to have been perfectly sincere, but also perfectly disinterested. They put themselves to considerable expense to erect this place of worship, and to maintain, at their own proper charges, a priest to officiate there; and without this the place, in all probability, would have been destitute of the worship and knowledge of the true God. His sincerity, disinterestedness, and attachment to the worship of the God of his fathers, are farther seen in the joy which he expressed on finding a Levite who might legally officiate in his house. It is true, he had not a Divine warrant for what he did; but the state of the land, the wastefulness of his countrymen, his distance from Shiloh, etc., considered, he appears to deserve more praise than blame, though of the latter he has received a most liberal share from every quarter. This proceeds from that often-noticed propensity in man to take every thing which concerns the character of another by the worst handle. It cannot be considered any particular crime.

[Guest]

Judges 18:1-31 At this there was no king in Israel. The tribe of Dan was looking for a place to settle. They hadn’t yet occupied their plot among the tribes of Israel. The Danites sent out five tough warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to visit the land and see what was out there suitable for their families. They went into the hill country of Ephraim, as far as the house of Micah. They camped there for the night. As they neared Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They went over and asked him how on earth did he get there. He said, “One thing that Micah hired him as his priest.

They said, “Oh, good—inquire of God for us. Find out whether our mission will be a success.” The priest said, “Go assured. God’s looking out for you all the way.”

The five men left and headed north to Laish. They saw that the people there were living in safety under the umbrella of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. They had everything going for them. But the people lived a long way from the Sidonians to the west and had no treaty with the Arameans to the east.

When they got back to Zorah and Eshtaol, they were asked how they found things. They said, “Let’s go for it! Let’s attack. The land is excellent. The inhabitants are sitting ducks. Wide open land—God is handing it over. So 600 hundred Danite men set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed to the teeth. Along the way they made camp at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. That is why the place was called Dan’s Camp at the time of this writing. It’s just west of Kiriath Jearim. From there they proceeded into the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

The five men who earlier had explored the country of Laish told their companions, “Did you know there’s an ephod, teraphim-items, and a cast god-sculpture in these buildings? What do you think? Do you want to do something about it?”

So they turned off the road there, went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and asked how things had been with him. The six hundred Danites, all well-armed, stood guard at the entrance to the gate while the five scouts who had gone to explore the land went in and took the carved idol, the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the god-sculpture. The priest was standing at the gate entrance with the six hundred armed men. When the five went into Micah’s house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the sculpted god, the priest said to them, “What do you think you’re doing?”

They said to him, “Hush! Don’t make a sound. Come with us. Be our father and priest. Which is more important, that you be a priest to one man or that you become priest to a whole tribe and clan in Israel?”

The priest jumped at the chance. He took the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the idol and fell in with the troops.

They turned away and set out, putting the children, the cattle, and the gear in the lead. They were well on their way from Micah’s house before Micah and his neighbors got organized. But they soon overtook the Danites. They shouted at them. The Danites turned around and said, “So what’s all the noise about?” Micah said that they took the image he made, his priest. But the Danites answered, Don’t yell at us; you just might provoke some fierce, hot-tempered men to attack you, and you’ll end up an army of dead men.

The Danites went on their way. Micah saw that he didn’t stand a chance against their arms. He turned back and went home. They took the things that Micah had made, along with his priest, and they arrived at Laish, that city of quiet and unsuspecting people. They massacred the people and burned down the city. There was no one around to help. They were a long way from Sidon and had no treaty with the Arameans. Laish was in the valley of Beth Rehob. When they rebuilt the city they renamed it Dan after their ancestor who was a son of Israel. The Danites set up the god-figure for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his descendants were priests to the tribe of Dan down to the time of the land’s captivity. All during the time that there was a sanctuary of God in Shiloh, they kept for their private use the god-figure that Micah had made.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)


1 In those days there is no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danite is seeking for itself an inheritance to inhabit, for [that] hath not fallen to it unto that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel by inheritance.

2 And the sons of Dan send, out of their family, five men of them, men, sons of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to traverse the land, and to search it, and they say unto them, `Go, search the land;' and they come into the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodge there.

3 They [are] with the household of Micah, and they have discerned the voice of the young man, the Levite, and turn aside there, and say to him, `Who hath brought thee hither? and what art thou doing in this [place?] and what to thee here?'

4 And he saith unto them, `Thus and thus hath Micah done to me; and he hireth me, and I am to him for a priest.'

5 And they say to him, `Ask, we pray thee, at God, and we know whether our way is prosperous on which we are going.'

6 And the priest saith to them, `Go in peace; over-against Jehovah [is] your way in which ye go.'

7 And the five men go, and come in to Laish, and see the people which [is] in its midst, dwelling confidently, according to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is none putting to shame in the land in [any] thing, possessing restraint, and they [are] far off from the Zidonians, and have no word with [any] man.

8 And they come in unto their brethren, at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren say to them, `What -- ye?'

9 And they say, `Rise, and we go up against them, for we have seen the land, and lo, very good; and ye are keeping silent! be not slothful to go -- to enter to possess the land.

10 When ye go, ye come in unto a people confident, and the land [is] large on both hands, for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which [is] in the land.'

11 And there journey thence, of the family of the Danite, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war.

12 And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, `Camp of Dan,' till this day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim.

13 And they pass over thence [to] the hill-country of Ephraim, and come in unto the house of Micah.

14 And the five men, those going to traverse the land of Laish, answer and say unto their brethren, `Have ye known that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and graven image, and molten image? and now, know what ye do.'

15 And they turn aside thither, and come in unto the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and ask of him of welfare, --

16 (and the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who [are] of the sons of Dan, are standing at the opening of the gate), --

17 yea, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go up -- they have come in thither -- they have taken the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image -- and the priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six hundred men who are girded with weapons of war --

18 yea, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest saith unto them, `What are ye doing?'

19 and they say to him, `Keep silent, lay thy hand on thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a priest: is it better thy being a priest to the house of one man, or thy being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?'

20 And the heart of the priest is glad, and he taketh the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and goeth into the midst of the people,

21 and they turn and go, and put the infants, and the cattle, and the baggage, before them.

22 They have been far off from the house of Micah -- and the men who [are] in the houses which [are] near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan,

23 and call unto the sons of Dan, and they turn round their faces, and say to Micah, `What -- to thee that thou hast been called together?'

24 And he saith, `My gods which I made ye have taken, and the priest, and ye go; and what to me more? and what [is] this ye say unto me, What -- to thee!'

25 And the sons of Dan say unto him, `Let not thy voice be heard with us, lest men bitter in soul fall upon you, and thou hast gathered thy life, and the life of thy household;'

26 and the sons of Dan go on their way, and Micah seeth that they are stronger than he, and turneth, and goeth back unto his house.

27 And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people quiet and confident, and smite them by the mouth of the sword, and the city have burnt with fire,

28 and there is no deliverer, for it [is] far off from Zidon, and they have no word with [any] man, and it [is] in the valley which [is] by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in it,

29 and call the name of the city Dan, by the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and yet Laish [is] the name of the city at the first.

30 And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of [the people] of the land.

31 And they appoint for them the graven image of Micah, which he had made, all the days of the house of God being in Shiloh.

[_Bazooka]

Nipper, seriously....that may be happening, but if it is, it is only happening in your head.

[_LittleNipper]

Nipper, seriously....that may be happening, but if it is, it is only happening in your head.

I believe you are worried, and witness that something is happening that you do not understand. The simple fact is, I am going to go through the entire Bible. You may try to hurt my feelings (hoping I'll go away). You may try to sidetrack my determination in an attempt to get me to stop. and you may even try to print your own books in an attempt to throw this thread into confusion. However, if God wishes me to continue --- it will continue.